Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Magazine Review - Two Armies and a Full Paint Set

Imperium was Hachette's first big Warhammer 40,000 partwork, and it remains the most complete "hobby in a box" the format has produced. Where the newer Combat Patrol magazine is mostly plastic, Imperium set out to build you two whole armies and the paints, brushes and scenery to finish them. That makes it the one partwork a paint-first hobbyist should really understand.

What is it?

Warhammer 40,000: Imperium ran for around 80 issues (with a few later extension deliveries) at roughly £8.99 an issue. Across the run you build two opposing armies:

• A large Necron force, and
• A combined Imperial collection of Primaris Space Marines, Adeptus Mechanicus (Skitarii) and Adepta Sororitas (Sisters of Battle),

plus terrain to fight over. Every issue carries an exclusive magazine with lore, datasheets, step-by-step building guides and painting guides - it's structured to teach a total beginner, one model at a time.

The bit that matters for a paint site

Unlike Combat Patrol, Imperium bundles in paints and brushes as you go. Issue 2 came with a starter brush and a pot of Runelord Brass; issue 3 added Macragge Blue; issue 4 Leadbelcher; issue 6 Abaddon Black; and periodic "paints only" issues topped up the core colours (Retributor Armour, Corax White, Mechanicus Standard Grey and so on). Follow it from the start and you don't just end up with two armies - you end up with a genuine working Citadel paint collection and the brushes to use them.

For a complete beginner that's the real appeal: you're never staring at a shopping list wondering which paints to buy, because the magazine drip-feeds them in the order you need them.

The savings

The value is genuinely good on the models. Taken across the full ~80-issue run, the collection worked out around £719 all-in and saved roughly £437 on retail - about a 43% discount - for two armies plus terrain, paints and brushes. Some single issues were outrageous: the Necrons Royal Court, about £68 to buy separately, arrived in a single £8.99 issue.

As with any partwork, the paint issues are the weak spot on pure value - a magazine's cover price for a pot or two of paint is never going to beat buying the paint outright. They earn their place by convenience and teaching order, not price. If you're optimising cost, that's the part to buy cheaper elsewhere (see below).

How to buy it now

The subscription has finished, so you can't sign up and have it drip-fed any more. In practice that means:

• Back issues and the boxed "collection" turn up on gaming retailers and the second-hand market - often the cheapest route to specific units.
• Part-collections are everywhere second-hand. Loads of people started Imperium, got a dozen issues in, and stopped - so incomplete runs sell cheap, frequently with a bag of the included paints.

That second point is where a lot of readers will actually meet Imperium: they've inherited or bought a half-finished collection and want to know what to do with it.

Painting an Imperium collection

Whether you followed it from issue 1 or picked up a job-lot second-hand, the paint question is the same - which colours do you actually need, and can you get them cheaper?

• Got the magazine's paint guide but not all the pots? Drop each colour into the paint matcher to find the closest equivalent from Vallejo, The Army Painter or any brand you already own.
• Want a scheme the magazine didn't cover - your own Space Marine chapter, a different Necron dynasty? The scheme generator will build you a full recipe.
• Brand new to all of it? Start with how to start painting miniatures.

Imperium or Combat Patrol?

If you're choosing between the two partworks:

• Imperium builds two full armies (Necrons + Imperials), includes paints and brushes, and is teaching-first - but it's finished, so you're buying back issues rather than subscribing. Best if you want a complete beginner's on-ramp and don't mind hunting issues down.
• Combat Patrol is a live subscription, spans nine different factions so you can pick your army, and is model-focused with paint guides but only occasional paint issues. Best if you want current models, choice of faction, and a subscription you can start today.

Verdict

Imperium is still the gold standard for a "everything you need to start the hobby" partwork - two armies, terrain, and the paints and brushes to finish them, wrapped in genuinely beginner-friendly magazines at roughly a 43% saving. The only real caveats are that it's no longer running (back issues only) and that, as ever, the paints are the one part you can source more cheaply. Match those to affordable equivalents and an Imperium collection is one of the best-value ways into painting 40k there's ever been.